When you are in first place, you play every game with a bullseye on your chest.

This has been the reality that the No. 13 Penn State women's basketball team (20-5, 10-1 Big Ten) has dealt with all season.

The Lady Lions defeated Michigan State (13-8, 6-4) 64-60 yesterday at the Breslin Center for their second win over the Spartans this season.

Much like the first contest -- which the Lions won 75-70 on Jan. 19 -- this game was tight toward the end, but the Lions hung on to remain atop the conference standings and now hold a one-game lead over No. 10 Purdue, which will visit Happy Valley on Thursday.

"The bottom line is we came out in the second half and we did a better job on the boards," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said on the Penn State Sports Radio Network. "We made some defensive stands."

Point guard Jess Strom iced the game for the Lions as she went 6-of-6 from the foul line over the final 61 seconds. She finished with 19 points including a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.

With the Lions leading 62-57 with less than 20 seconds remaining, Syreeta Bromfield hit a three-pointer to pull the Spartans within two. The Spartans had no choice but to foul Strom with 1.7 seconds left. Strom showed no fear as she iced the game with a pair of free throws.

The Lions got great balance, as they had three players in double figures. Surprisingly, one of the players not on that list was Kelly Mazzante, who came into the game third in the nation in scoring. She was held to just eight points on 4-for-15 shooting, just the second time in 40 games she's failed to reach double figures. The last time was Jan. 20 of last year, when she managed just nine points in a loss to the Spartans.

"That kind of balance really helped us," Portland said. "Some others really did come through, it truly was a team effort."

The first half was a struggle for both teams, as the Lions shot 34.5 percent while the Spartans shot 33 percent.

Mazzante managed just four points, and was one of a few Lions who had some open looks at the rim, but failed to knock them down.

The Spartans did a nice job of controlling the glass, which in turn helped them to control the tempo, which frustrated the Lions.

The Lions were able to turn that around in the second half and finished with a 36-34 rebounding edge. This win seems to have reversed a trend for the Lions when it comes to road games.

After beginning the season 4-5 on the road, the Lions have won four in a row.

"We talked about the Michigan win at the end," Portland said.

"You get frustrated with a lot of things, we just refused to lose."

Their will to win helped pull the Lions through, and they can now switch their focus to the Boilermakers and a Thursday a game in which the Lions will certainly have a bullseye on their chests.